In It Together
by Die Schreiberin
Summary: Think of "Carmen" but with a happier ending. Pairing A/N/S


A/N: Some of the inspiration of this story came from both the manga and the anime. From the manga we get Shizuma's love for horses and what color her riding clothes are and the color of her horse. The color of Amane's riding gear and horse comes from both. As for the anime, there's a brief mention of the play _Carmen_.

This is an AU fiction and might be slightly OOC or at least when it comes to Shizuma. You see she does and she doesn't have a possessive side in this fiction.

Enjoy!

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><p><strong>IN IT TOGETHER<strong>

I don't own Strawberry Panic only the idea.

Hanazono Shizuma and Othori Amane attended two different schools on Astraea Hill. Shizuma was from St. Miator and Amane was from St. Spica. They were a year apart, but they shared the exact same birthday. Their parents had been friends since forever and would celebrate their births together. However, these two weren't the best of friends. They both rode horses together, but Amane was more into the creatures than Shizuma. The silver beauty liked varity and took part in many other activities such as flowers and playing the piano, and it wasn't like Amane didn't enjoy them either but not as much as horses. However, Amane and Shizuma main friendship and connection had laid solely in horseback riding and their birthday.

That was the case for a time until they had a chance in love.

While they we're attending school on Astraea Hill an unexpected connection formed between them them then. It wasn't that they feel in love with each other, no, it was just solace for the same shared pain. Shizuma had found love in a girl named Kaori, who died later of being deathly sick, and Amane had found love in a girl named Hikari, who died unexpectedly from a car accident. They grew closer like sisters when their loved one's died, but each handled the deaths of their beloveds differently. Shizuma took to sleeping around with a slue of girls. Whereas Amane threw more of her time into her horse and vowed never to love again.

Although they grieved and found life colorless, they would both be forever changed through the hand of fate. In Shizuma's last year and Amane's fifth year, a red headed transfer student came bounding into their lives. Both Shizuma and Amane noticed the girl at the same time as she entered Strawberry dorm's dining hall. Her uniform was from a St. Miator and she was immediately presented by Miyuki to Shizuma, the Etoile, as Aoi Nagisa.

Upon seeing the bashful beauty before her and hearing the sweet and tender voice of Nagisa as she nervously greeted her, Shizuma felt her heart melt into a giant puddle. Never before had she felt such an attraction for a girl or at least not since Kaori, but possibly not even then. With Amane, her closer glance at the red head was when Nagisa sat by her since she had an empty seat next to her. The Prince of Spica couldn't believe a cutie such as her could exist in the world. When one the neighboring people at the table offered up a joke, the red head's laughter was to her as sweet as the jingling of bells.

From the moment of the girl's first appearance, both Amane and Shizuma couldn't get the girl out of their heads. They would constantly dream of her, but they were both afraid to even approach her in fear that if they were to even touch her that she might just disappear on them. The problem about their fear and determination of not pursuing the girl was ripped out of their hands once again by fate, who would find ways to force the fourth year girl in their presences time and time again: either by the girl getting lost in the woods and being found by Amane or the girl going to the Etoile greenhouse to help with the flowers.

When they would stumble upon Nagisa, they would discover how open minded Nagisa was and how easy it was to talk to her. Soon they found themselves growing attached to the girl. They both noticed how the red head could be klutzy; this behavior caused them to both worry about girl to where they wanted to protect her and finding it incredibly and adorably cute. The way the Prince of Spica and the Etoile acted around the transfer student did not go unnoticed by people. The really big change that was noticed was the fact the Shizuma stopped finding a new flavor of the month as far as girls went, and Amane started to take interest outside of horses.

As for those who noticed, people had gotten into mixed emotions about the whole thing. Some feared that Nagisa was using these two well loved girls to gain popularity. They didn't want the red head to play with the emotions of these two grieving individuals. Some thought that Nagisa was sent by God to heal the emotional wounds of both Shizuma and Amane. Despite the conflicting thoughts and opinions of the red head's fellow students, they didn't do anything but keep an eye on her.

For close personal friends to these two women, they would encourage them. For example: Shizuma's friend Miyuki would encourage her silver friend to stop seeing Nagisa in fear that the red head would end up hurt. As for Amane, her friend Shion would encourage the Prince to keep seeing Nagisa in hopes that Amane would chose her and take Shizuma's place as Etoile. Even though it was a cruel thought, Shion thought Amane could get over Hikari's death by pursuing something bigger than she.

Kaname, a silent guardian over Amane, was begrudgingly happy for the Prince to have found someone to ease her aching heart, but she didn't want the red head to end up hurting the girl. She didn't like how Nagisa would go back and forth between both Amane and Shizuma, but at the same time she didn't see the younger girl favoingr one girl above the other. She would often wondered, but had never figured out, if these two stars of Astraea Hill even knew about the ping pong match they were having with the transfer student.

The answer to this was answered when the cultural festival came to Astraea Hill. During the festival, there is a tradition for the Strawberry dorm to put on a play. The play for this festival was _Carmen _written by Nagisa's roommate Tamao and cast by Miyuki, who put Shizuma, Amane and Nagisa in the tragic love triangle of the play. (A/N: Casting same as in the anime except for the whole Chikaru thing.) During the production, both Shizuma and Amane had watched how the other would interacted with Nagisa. Although they wanted to believe that some of the things they had seen were of part of the play, they knew each other well enough to know it wasn't acting. Thinking about the theme of the play, they both realized how ironic things had turned out for the both of them.

They could not blame the other girl for falling in love with Nagisa; she was after all a desirable young woman. They could not be angry with the other girl because they knew how the other felt. Once they realized they were rivals for the hand of the red head, they decided the best thing to do was to sit down and talk things through. They came up with two plans, one more favorable than the other. They decided to go for the least favorable which was to keep going as they were and have Nagisa choose between them.

They each approached her separately and told her of their feelings. There was a fear that Nagisa would reject them altogether and that she would be a 'normal' girl, but she didn't reject them per say. She just told them she just needed time to readjust her feelings for them as everything was just so new to her. They respected that.

In the time Nagisa had known both of her admirers, she felt their inner sorrow. She had no idea what pain they felt, but she never felt incline to actually know. By nature, she was a curious someone, but this time, she let her curiosity fail because she knew that the telling of painful things was always hard, and she never wanted to cause either of these girls pain. This desire was something that was tearing her apart inside because she knew couldn't choose between them in fear of hurting the other. She told them so as soon as she came to this conclusion. She also told them that she just needed more time, but that she was serious about answering their feelings.

It was about two weeks after they confessed to Nagisa, when she came to them with her feelings. They both accepted it and gave her as much time as possible. A week later both Amane and Shizuma held a private meeting on a horseback ride. During the ride they discussed the other part of their plan and how to approach Nagisa about it. They decided to take the girl away for a week at the summer home their parents had bought for them as a sort of a play house. (A/N: The house still looks like the one from the anime, but with a stable and riding track to fit Amane's needs.)

In a joint effort, they approached Nagisa during dinner and handed her the invitation. There were a few murmurs around the room at this action, but murmurs weren't the only reaction to the invite. As soon as dinner was over, Nagisa started walking back to her dorm, but was stopped by Kaname, who pulled her into a nearby janitor closet. The red head knew so little of Kaname, but what she did know scared her a little. However, the Spica student council member wasn't there to molest her. She just wanted to lay the facts on the table for her. She told the younger girl about Amane's former lover, and she threatened her to choose her actions wisely.

Not long after Kaname released her, Nagisa was then pulled aside by Miyuki, who told her about Shizuma's lost love. The Miator student body president made note also that Shizuma's feelings for her (Nagisa) might not be real and that she (Nagisa) might only be just a replacement for Kaori. Upon these words, Miyuki left her to feast on everything she heard. She ran to room and collapsed on her bed trying to figure out what just happen and what she should do. All the while, she cried, but not for herself but for the grief and pain her suitors had gone through. For a brief moment, she thought of not going with them to the weekend getaway, but she thought better of it when she wanted to know exactly what she was to them.

The day of the invite was in the middle of the week and the day of the getaway was the coming weekend. Once the weekend came, the trio left via horseback. Amane was in her usual white riding clothes, riding on her white horse, Starbright, and Shizuma wore black, riding on her black horse, Rose. When it came to Nagisa, she had learned from Amane how to ride and take care of horses. She did most of her riding with Amane, but there were a few times when she would ride with Shizuma, but mostly when it came to the silver beauty, it was either playing the piano or taking care of the flowers. She loved the things she did with the Etoile, but she also loved the things she did with the Prince like riding on a horse. When she started riding a horse, she realized she needed proper clothes, with help from her parents and Amane, she ordered some grey riding gear with a tint of green. As for her horse at the moment, it was just a brown loner from Spica's school. She always rode a different horse when she practiced.

They rode along in the quiet forest surrounding the three schools of Astraea Hill. As they rode, all three barely spoke a word to each other as they were lost in their thoughts about what this weekend was about and what it meant to them. It took about an hour and a half plus a fifteen minute watering break for the horses until they came upon the summer home. They walked the horses to the stables and made sure they had good hay to eat before they went in to freshen up.

After each girl took a shower and put on more comfortable clothing, they met in the kitchen for some lunch. Both Shizuma and Amane had made arrangements for the summer house to be stocked with fresh hay and fresh food just enough for about two or three days. Truth be told, they were only expecting to be there for just an overnight trip, but having more than enough was better in case of emergencies.

After lunch, they adjured to the living room for more comfort to discuss the heart of the matter. Nagisa sat on a sofa, while Amane and Shizuma took two overstuffed arm chairs. Their friend silence had never really left until this very moment. It was just a matter of who would speak first.

Bringing up her courage, it was the red head who took the plung, "I want to know where I stand with you two."

The other two looked at each other confused before they returned their attention to Nagisa.

"We love you and we want you in our lives," stated Shizuma.

The red head looked at her in disbelief, "I understand you love me and I felt it, but how do you want me in your life?"

"We want you as our lover, our girlfriend," explained Amane.

"But why though?"

"Because we love you," said Shizuma. "We don't want to be without you."

"Would I just be enough for either of you?"

"You would be more than enough," stated Amane.

Nagisa took a moment to think to contemplate on things. "What do you see when you see me?"

"We see you, Nagisa," Shizuma smiled at her.

"We see you," Amane went on to further explain, "for who you really are."

"You're fun and caring," came the Etoile.

"Your eyes shine with so much warmth," the Prince complimented.

The red head wanted to believe her ears, but she wanted to make sure she understood correctly, "So you don't see me as anyone else?"

"Why would we?" asked the silver beauty.

"I was told how you both had lovers who died."

Amane swallowed, "How long have you known?"

"Just this week," replied the red head, "but only for a few days. Even before I was told I knew there was some deep sorrow in both of your lives, but I never knew and I never asked. I decided to just wait until you told me but only if you felt the need too. When I found out, I was told I might just be a replacement for the girls you lost. I didn't know if you saw me for who I'm truly am."

"I can't speak for Amane, but I've never compared you with Kaori."

"I've never seen you as Hikari. You were just different from her. I loved getting to know you, and I love how you enjoy learning new things."

"I love how honest you are and how much you have a strong determination to do something you desire. Kaori will hold a place in my heart. She taught me how to love and what's it like to be in a long meaningful relationship. I've never had that with anyone before her or after until you came into my life. I just can't stop thinking about you. Sometimes I think Kaori had sent you to me."

"I feel the same. I look at you and I see some heavenly messenger that was sent to open my heart again. When I lost Hikari, the music died for me, but you brought it back with your laughter. From Hikari, I learned the importance of having someone in your life who cares for you and holds your hand through hardships. But do you know what we learned from you?"

"We learned how to smile and how to enjoy life again. Emotionally, we died the day our beloved left us, but we revived the day you came into our lives."

The red head's heart grew heavy as she listened to her suitors' words. There was grief, just a small amount but not for herself but for her suitors. No, the emotion she felt the most was love. She felt the love from these two girls who said that they needed her for her. She also felt thankful for both Kaori and Hikari (she wasn't jealous of them since she felt how both Shizuma and Amane had moved on) that they helped in crafting the women her two suitors have become. She loved each woman equally, but she knew how difficult it was going to be to choose between them.

"How am I supposed to choose?" she asked out loud. "I can't choose one without hurting the other."

"Don't choose," said Shizuma calmly.

"What do you mean?" asked Nagisa confused.

"Don't choose," Amane repeated Shizuma's words. "Have us both."

"But wouldn't that be unfair for either of you? How can you even think about sharing someone?"

The silver beauty gave a smile, "We've shared the same birthday since Amane's birth. We've been like sisters almost. We share the same passions, but equally, for horses, music and flowers."

"Horses I can see but music and flowers?" the red head said this as she looked at the Prince.

It was Amane's turn to smile, "I enjoy music and flowers, but I'm not as passionate as Shizuma in those areas. I just don't normally show it or at least not at school. For you I will."

The red head blushed at that.

"Despite sharing the same day of birth and our passions, we shared the same pain of losing a loved one."

"We just wouldn't mind sharing a lover as well."

"Wouldn't one of you get jealous of the other?" worried Nagisa.

The silver beauty looked heaven word, "We have thought about how it would have been better if you were a twin, but somehow it just didn't compute into our minds. There is only one of you. You are a rare and precious gem, One that we just want to take care of for the rest of our lives."

"How would this even work?"

"We'll find a way," the Prince said, "We'll hang out together as three. When occasion permits, we'll sleep together in the same bed but with you in the middle. But however it works, we only want you in our lives. We both realize that it would kill us if we lost you. We both know how important you are in our lives. So we can't ask you to chose, but for you and for us."

"Please say yes," the suitors asked in unison.

How the red head got into this moment she would never know. She also never dreamed that she would meet two women who would mean so much to her. She found that she wanted the power to divide herself in two to make the situation easier, but she couldn't. All of her life she had dreamt of finding that certain someone, but now things have changed. She had found two people she could not live without.

"I will," Nagisa agreed out loud. She looked upon her two new girlfriends to find love and happiness in their eyes.

They both stood up, walked over to Nagisa and sat on either side of her. Amane threw her arms around Nagisa's neck as Shizuma went in for a passionate kiss to the girl's lips. They had kissed until the need for air came. When they broke apart, Shizuma took over hugging Nagisa around the neck as Amane pressed her lips to Nagisa's. In both kisses, Nagisa felt the same emotional flow of love, desire and devotion.

When the Prince broke apart from her princess, she cocked her head up to look at Shizuma. She wanted to make sure they could still do this. Shizuma only smiled and gave her wink of reassurance. The silver beauty looked down at her new beloved and kissed her cheek, "Shall we take this into another room?"

Nagisa looked over at Amane for her own reassurance before she answered, "Yes."

"Good," the Etoile said as she stood up to go up stairs.

Nagisa went to follow but was stopped by Amane, who looked only at Nagisa as addressed the older woman, "We'll be up in a moment, there's something I need to ask Nagisa."

Shizuma gave Amane a knowing smile, "It's fine. I need to make a phone call anyway, but then I'll be waiting."

The Prince turned her head towards the Etoile for a moment to give her a knowing smile, "You won't have to wait long."

"I know," with that Shizuma walked up the stairs.

Seeing as they were alone, Nagisa asked, "What did you want to ask me?"

"I know we go to different schools, but there is nothing in the regulations of the tournament that said the participants only need to come from the same school…" Amane caught herself rambling. "What I'm trying to get at, I want you to join with me in the Etoile competiton."

Nagisa's breath hitched, "But wouldn't Shizuma-sama be angry if we do this?"

The blunette shook her head, "No, she's actually all for it."

"Why would she be?"

"There are two reasons: One) with us being in the tournament together it would show how you are taken by me; Two) when we win, we will share the same title as Shizuma. We'll all be former Etoiles together."

"If we're still together after high school, how are things going to work?"

Amane put a figure to her mouth before speaking, "Let me paint you a picture. The three of us will stay together until Shizuma graduates. Once she graduate,s she'll go off to study at a university, but she'll still keep in touch with you. As for me, we'll be together until I graduate; however, I'll try to stay on at the school as an equestrian coach for a year while taking correspondence courses from the same university as Shizuma."

"Why would you want to be an equestrian coach for a year?"

"To keep an eye on you," the blunette replied before she continued on with her picture. "Both Shizuma and I will make sure you'll go to the same school as us. After that, we'll live in the same apartment and be happy together until the end of our days."

"What about marriage and kids?"

Amane smiled, "We'll worry about that when the time is right. Now come on." She kissed Nagisa's head and stood up. Once on her feet, she offered a hand to help the red head on her feet. From the moment she stood, the Prince scooped her up bridal style and took her up the stairs to the bedroom they're going to be sharing with Shizuma. Upon entering, they noticed how the silver beauty was lying provocatively on the bed completely nude and ready. Amane took Nagisa over to the king size bed and gently laid her down. Not one moment later, Shizuma was by her side. She started right away taking Nagisa's clothes off with Amane's help. As soon as the red head was naked, Shizuma started in on her while the Spica girl revealed her birthday suit. It didn't take long for the threesome to writher together enjoying themselves.

The next morning, or more like afternoon, the three made their way down stairs for lunch. All three were freshly showered and ready to greet the rest of the day. During lunch there came a loud knock at the door. Amane stood up to answer. She was greeted by a middle aged gentleman she had known since she was little. His presence wasn't an unwelcome because he was expected to be there. After exchanging a few pleasantries between them, Amane called for both Shizuma and Nagisa to come to the door. When they came, the Spica girl ushered both girls outside.

Upon setting a foot out the door, Nagisa noticed what looked like a horse trailer. She moved her eyes from the object to Amane, whose eyes looked gleeful. From Amane, she turned her attention to Shizuma, whose eyes mirrored Amane's. She wondered what the heck was going on. As she stood there, Shizuma wrapped her right arm around her shoulders at the same time as Amane grabbed her right hand as the Prince gave some sort of signal to the middle aged man.

The semi grey haired guy opened the doors to the trailer and disappeared behind the open hanging door. In what seemed like a half a minute later, he revealed himself once more, but this time dragging something by his hands. It wasn't much longer for the mystery to be revealed as a grey spotted horse came into view. The horse was the prettiest thing Nagisa had ever seen.

Amane looked up to Nagisa, who was standing a couple of steps higher than she. "Nagi?"

The red head tore her eyes away from the horse to look at her lover, "Hm?"

"I would like you to meet, Angel, she's one year old, but she's a good horse."

"And she's yours," whispered Shizuma into her ear.

Their young lover took in all her surroundings from the silver beauty to the Prince and to the horse. "Really?"

"Yes," said Shizuma. "She's yours. She's our present to you."

"Have you ever done anything like this before?"

"Never," her lovers said in unison. They were serious in their affections of their young lover.

At this point, Nagisa's eyes overflowed with tears as she couldn't believe her luck. Not only did she gain two lovers, but she also gained a horse. She never thought of herself as anything special nor did she think she deserved all of this love, but here she was loved by two wonderful and dear young women, who have given her a horse. She threw her arms around each of her lovers, thanking them for loving and caring for her.

As for her lovers, they have never been happier in all of their lives. Yes, they shared some things, but none of those things beat sharing Nagisa and her love.

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><p>AN: This is only a one shot and I have no desire to continue this, but if anyone wants to keep running with it feel free, but only if you personally ask.


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